SINCE it was launched by President Nixon in 1971, the USA’s war on drugs has led to more than 45 million arrests and has cost taxpayers in excess of $1trillion.

This absorbing documentary asks why, 40 years on, things have got no better.

Filmed in more than 20 US states, The House I Live In captures heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of the war on drugs. We meet the grandmother whose son died from Aids after sharing a needle, the middle-aged man who turned to dealing drugs after losing his job and is now serving life in prison, and the police officers rounding up the usual suspects.

The message is that whatever your politics, something needs to change with current policies wrecking lives and failing to address addiction.

Ultimately, the film recognises the seriousness of drug abuse as a matter of public health, and filmmaker Eugene Jarecki makes the point that treating addicts makes much more sense than locking them up.